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Monday, November 16, 2020
In reality, Chancellor Merkel wants to enforce a general mask requirement in schools and, where necessary, class division in consultation with the country’s leaders. But nothing will come out at the moment. Instead, the federal states advocate an alternative proposal. There are open criticisms of the Foreign Ministry’s approach.
In their deliberations on how to proceed in the corona pandemic in the afternoon, the federal and state governments are not expected to decide on stricter steps for schools. In accordance with a modified federal government proposal for video conferencing, states will submit a proposal by next week on how the risk of infection in schools can be further reduced.
In the original federal document for consultations between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of the federal states, however, stricter measures were also established for schools. The use of mouth and nose protection should be mandatory for students of all ages and for teachers on school premises and during lessons. Without exception, fixed groups of students must also be formed, so the size of the groups in the classrooms must be reduced by half compared to normal operations.
The federal government wanted to make sure there was a spatial distance between the individual groups. There must be a minimum distance of 1.5 meters within a class or course. This should also apply to school transport, for example by bus.
Schwesig: “disproportionate”
Already over the weekend it became clear that new measures in the school sector are controversial. Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder had advocated keeping schools open as long as possible, but introducing a national uniform mask requirement. Preliminary consultations reported that there was agreement in principle that schools should remain open for classroom instruction. However, most countries currently do not want to change regulations.
After more preliminary discussions on Monday, participants now say the issue is very sensitive. The resistance comes mainly from countries governed by the SPD, but also from some prime ministers of the CDU. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig spoke of an uncoordinated movement that was “disproportionate” to children, young people and the school sector. The actions of the Chancellery lead “to uncertainty instead of a common orientation for the population,” criticized Schwesig.
In the afternoon, Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to hold a video conference with the prime minister to discuss the steps to be taken in the fight against the pandemic. Among other things, the federal government wants to drastically tighten contact restrictions again. However, several prime ministers stressed in advance that they did not expect new fundamental resolutions, but wanted to assess together the current situation of the crown.
